Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson has been medically cleared to practice after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in early October to treat his left knee tendinitis, according to Aaron McMann of MLive.
The Pistons (8-10) have managed to keep the team afloat with backup Ish Smith running the floor, but can largely benefit with the return of Jackson and his 18.8 points per game average.
“We changed our practice and basically warmed up some, went five-on-five and then shot,” head coach Stan Van Gundy told McMann. “We didn't do our normal defensive drilling and stuff, which we'll probably pay for, but with him coming back the priority was to get him up and down and give him a chance to play.”
Van Gundy, who last week targeted an early-December return for his fast-paced guard, said he's “not counting on” having Jackson back for Detroit's three-game, four-day road trip that takes off Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets.
“I've seen him for a couple weeks,” Van Gundy said. “He looks fine playing. Obviously stamina is going to be an issue. I don't think he could play 33 minutes a game right now, but no, whenever they tell me he's ready to go and he tells me he's ready to go, then he'll go.”
The man at the helm warned that not everything was at full speed, nor was it a full-contact practice, but remained optimistic that he could be ready to play soon.
“Just trying to get more practices under my belt and then go from there and make a decision,” Jackson said. “Right now, it's just one day — it wasn't full-contact, nonstop. It was just a set-run-run. I also had a sub, so I didn't necessarily get enough time to find out where my wind is or necessarily my endurance.”
“I don't think the next game is the game to come back,” added Jackson. “But I'm just trying to get more practices under my belt and get some timing things (right).”
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